Paints
by Nocturne Weaver
Summary: To avoid fangirls Gaara pretends to go gay. In a conflict when his fans demand proof, Gaara's forced to pretend he has a boyfriend to prove hes "gay"...But what if its not a guy? And even worse, what would he think when certain emotions arise for "him"?
1. Decision

**Paints  
**Chapter One  
_Decision_

Hello everyone!

**Disclaimer disclaimed.** HOWEVER, Miyuki, Karourain(pronouced Ka-rou-ra-in), and the rest of the fangirls are mine.

**Note:** Please don't be offended if you are a desperate fan girl of Gaara. My assumptions here in the story are just jokes. Oakie? (:

"Regular speech"  
"_words in the letter"  
Emphasis of regular words

* * *

_"_Naruto. __Remember 'the memories'?  
Of how I met 'it'. That single decision I made.  
Which triggered the start of how it all happened.  
. . ."

* * *

_"Hurry!"

Naruto and Kankuro ran up the flights of steps, not pausing to tie a shoelace, drink some water, or even scream in agony at the burning in their thighs. Gaara was angry. Very angry.

Few things upset Gaara after he became Kazekage. He used to blast up anything that got on his slightest nerves— rocks, trees, people, animals; basically the landscape and everything in it. Now it didn't bother him anymore. Because it was all overshadowed by his hatred of... fan girls. _Fan girls_. The word struck fear into even the most terrifying demon. Because once a girl desperately fanned someone, she would cross rivers of torture and lakes of death just to be with that particular someone. It would creep that particular someone out so much that he would kill her. And he would be happy.

But no, this wasn't the case with Gaara. He was the protector of his village. He had to protect his siblings, elders, younglings, and, his fangirls. By killing a fan girl, he would have helped in murdering his precious dream of staying Kazekage. This concept made Gaara so angry, it drove him almost to the point of insanity.

Naruto and Kankuro skidded to a stop when they heard an explosion overheard. They heard two muffled voices, most likely Gaara and Temari's.

"It was your _BIRTHDAY_, for Mom's sake!!" A huge fluttering of papers. "I could just kill them for what they did! Where are they?! WHERE IS NARUTO??!! Temari, _WHERE ARE THEY??!!_ Bring them up here right **NOW**!!" Another explosion.

"Now Gaara, calm down, calm down! I can sense them below us! Just wait a couple—" A shattering of glass.

Naruto and Kankuro heard the door slam open. The terrified ninjas heard footsteps banging on the ceiling above them, then a cascade of pounding thumps as Gaara made his way down the stairs.

Gaara immediately spotted the striking golden hair, the bright orange outfit, the deep blue eyes glistening with terror. They locked gazes.

Right away, Naruto felt as if he was thrown into freezing oceans. He took a few weak steps backward as Gaara began to slowly pursue him, and then chase him down the hall. An icy hand clutched his neck and Naruto felt himself being thrown against the wall. Again, those cold pale hands grabbed his collar and held him up.

"OOUUAAGHH!! Help!"

"Shut up Naruto! I want to tell you something!!"

"Why couldn't you have just--" Naruto began shouting a stream of complaints as Gaara dragged him up the stairs by his hair.

"If another word comes out of your mouth, I WILL do something." Naruto stopped protesting.

"Poor Naruto...,"said a weary voice.

Kankuro turned to find his sister looking very disgruntled, and covered in deep cuts and bruises. Kankuro's mouth fell open. She smiled, and lifted her hands. "S'not what you think. Gaara said he'd make this year's birthday punches extra delicate." Kankuro gapped, but Temari just shrugged. " At least he kept the promise."

* * *

Gaara slammed the door behind him and flopped onto his desk. He motioned for Naruto to sit on one of the chairs. For several minutes, no one said anything. The silence grew. Then... 

"They ruined Temari's birthday party."

Naruto cocked his head.

"Those girls. The ones I tell you about. They...ruined...Temari's...TWENTIETH...birthday...party."

Naruto's eyes widened, and a grim look came upon his face. "Wow...that's pretty bad. Tsk tsk."

"It was supposed to be all about her," Gaara continued, his hands balling up into fists. "But what happens? They rush in. They flip over the food table. They crush her presents. They attack her and her friends. And then it ends up with me in the middle! Always me, me, ME!" Suddenly, his face turned thoughtful.

Naruto frowned. "That sucks, man. Ehm...what are you thinking?"

"Naruto...no matter how good-looking a guy is, if he's extremely strange, they would avoid him, right?" He stared at his friend. "What would you think would happen...if I pretended to be gay?"

"_**WHAT??!!**_" Naruto shrieked, jumping. "GAY??!! ARE YOU NUTS?!"

"I'm not turning gay...I'm just gonna pretend to be so those girls would avoid me," Gaara replied calmly. "I've been considering this for a while now, too, by the way."

Naruto took several deep breaths and sat back down in his chair, taking care to lean away from Gaara far as possible. "So, um, gay. Won't you get fired for it?"

"I dunno..."

"But-but, being the Kazekage! It was your only dream!"

"And that dream turned to a nightmare. I'm about ready to end it." Gaara stood up, and so did Naruto.

"Um, gay. Are you positive you're gonna do it?"

"Yes."

"You promise not to turn gay yourself?"

"I'm not turning gay, I'm only gonna be pretending."

Naruto relaxed. "Okay, so you promise, PROMISE not to truly turn gay."

"I promise. I won't turn gay."

"Do you promise, promise, PROMISE that--"

"SHUT UP!!"

"I can't—"

The door flew open, and one of Gaara's assistants tumbled in. "Gaara-sama," he gasped. "There are a group of fan girls in the lobby. The village elders have been trying to hold them off, but they refuse to leave unless you visit them."

Gaara's face turned dark purple as Naruto's eyes brightened. "Oh really?" Naruto said, his eyes sparkling with an mischievous idea. "C'mon, Gaara, let's go tell these girls to...leave."

The lobby was filled with girls wearing extremely short, lacy pink dresses and crowns. They were all screaming. And once Gaara came down the stairs, they screamed even louder.

"Gaara-sama!!!" One girl shrieked.

"Gaara-chan, pregnify me!!" Another one squealed.

"Gaara!" "Gaara-chan!" "Date me!!" "I have a treat for you in my room!" "Want to see my new underwear?" The girls continued to shriek out explicit comments, much to the disgust of the elders and Gaara.

"Wow," Naruto murmured.

"I know," Gaara whispered under his breath. "And you said you always wanted fan girls."

Naruto shuddered and spotted one of the elders. He giggled and pointed. "Look, Gaara. That guy is standing next to this hairy-ass fan girl. Look at his face!" He giggled again. Gaara didn't laugh but cleared his throat.

"Alight, you bit—AHEM. Alright, GIRLS, I want each and every one of you turdlings-- EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU, to get the hell out of my sight!!"

"Aw, Gaara-sama!! Let us stay!" they squealed.

"Gaara!" one girl whined. "Can't you at least stay with me for just a minute?" This started on a whole new round of pleading and a bit of fighting.

"YOU SLUTS, SHUT THE HELL UP!!"

Everyone turned and stared at Naruto. He took a deep breath, and began shouting, "YOU WHOREBAGS ARE SOME OF THE DRIPPIEST, MOST DISGUSTING GIRLS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! And you hoes can just save your breath, because Gaara ain't gonna go with you, not now, not ever! Not just cause you guys are so unattractive, but guess WHAT!! HE'S GAA-AAY!!!"

It was as if time skidded to a stop. The room was deathly silent like a tomb. Gaara slowly turned his head to glare at Naruto. Naruto stared back at the seething aquamarine eyes. Gaara pointed his finger, and Naruto followed its direction into the faces of the shocked elders. One of them gestured for Gaara to come.

As Gaara walked towards the man, the fan girls immediately parted away from him as if he were a poison. He hid a smile to himself; he owed Naruto a huge amount. But the elder pointed at his kage robes. He gestured for Gaara to take them off and hand them over. Gaara did so until he was standing in his regular black pants and shirt. Then the elder threw his arm toward the door.

"You...are...to be Kazekage no longer. Now. Get. OUT." Now Gaara didn't know whether to chide or thank Naruto.

* * *

"Oh c'mon! If you wanted to keep it a secret, then how would those girls ever know that you were gay?" Naruto complained, as they both strode through the streets towards the Suna gates. 

"You don't scream it out when there are ELDERS around, you meddling fool!" Gaara hissed. "Now that you helped me lose my job, where am I supposed to go? I can't stay here because life would certainly be bothersome..."

"Just come stay at Konoha!" Naruto offered. "You'd have peace and quiet..."

"I have fangirls in Konoha too. Dumbass."

"Oh...well, don't worry," Naruto replied cheerfully. "Suna and Konoha are so close, word passes through to them quicker than my diarrhea."

"...Don't talk to me."

"What? I just said--"

"DON'T...talk to me."

"Okay so, if life would be bothersome here, wouldn't it be bothersome in Konoha too?"

"I'll live."

By the time the two ninja made it to the gates, it was nightfall. They made it to Konoha within two days. Naruto was right- even with their speed, Gaara couldn't have found himself any peace at Konoha either. Even the color of the town was too bright and bold.

"It's so intense," Naruto commented, observing the town from an overlooking cliff. He turned to Gaara. "Do you remember it being this colorful?"

Gaara shrugged. Much as he didn't care what people thought, it still disturbed him to know that people he didn't even know already knew that he was "gay", but they didn't know that he was just acting it. He disliked being judged like that.

"Oi, cheer up, Gaara! Here, let's go to my apartment. I'll make you happy with my chicken-beef-and-shrimp ramen dish!"

* * *

Gaara was bored. Naruto had crashed immediately after eating Gaara's ramen dish, leaving Gaara awake and restless and irritated. The redhead stared out the window at the sapphire blue sky laced with small but billowy white clouds. It was a nice day; he would go outside and explore the area. 

As Gaara was walking among the buildings, he noticed one that was currently being painted a bright orange. He stopped to watch the progress. It surprised him that only one person was painting the huge round roof. Gaara watched as the person climbed down their ladder, retrieved a new paint bucket and resumed painting. He observed that the painter's movements were noticeably graceful, yet when the painter happened to bent down at a certain angle, their arm would jerk back, as if their stomach was in pain. It was strange. The hands were small and unnaturally pale, though most of their body was already covered in huge, paint-stained baggy clothes. Tufts of messy black hair stuck out from underneath an old brown hat.

Occasionally this person would stop painting and put a hand to their forehead.

'This person seems to get a lot of headaches,' Gaara thought. He didn't realize just how late it was until he found himself squinting against the light to get a glimpse of the figure. He looked around. The sky was blue, but the clouds were hues of hot pinks, oranges, and purples. Konoha sunsets were certainly beautiful. He turned back to see the painter climbing down from the ladder and setting the paint bucket on the floor. Whoever it was picked up a can of brushes and began walking in Gaara's direction. Gaara squinted to get a look at the person's face...A sharp kick in his ribs made him shout.

"Naruto!!"

"Hey, Gaara!" Naruto stretched his arms up to the sky, yawned and grinned at the same time. "I had one nice sleep. You enjoyin' the scenery?"

Gaara nodded and turned his head just in time to get a glimpse of the painter walking by. His eyes widened; he absolutely couldn't tell whether the person was a boy or girl. The person had small facial features but large, pale eyes, masked in sickly white skin.

Another kick from Naruto and Gaara jumped up, seized his friend by the collarbones and slammed him into the wall. By the time Gaara turned around again, the he/she was gone.

"You jackass! Stop kicking me!"

"You kept staring at that person!"

"I was observing them because they were STRANGE!"

"Well it's getting dark. We should go inside, unless you want to get man-raped--" _BOOM_.

* * *

Over the next couple days, Gaara observed the person. He could tell that even though he/she dressed in baggy clothes, they were very thin. He/she also walked with a disturbing posture: stiff, bent over a bit too much, weakly shivering, slightly hunched shoulders. Gaara smiled to himself; he had dubbed the person as "he/she", and the concept was still amusing to him. 

Then one day, Naruto decided to take Gaara out on another one of his super-exciting Konoha tours. It seemed more like a show for the townspeople: as Gaara walked by, people would actually stop and point and whisper to their friends about "how the ex-Kazekage turned gay".

After several hours of this, Naruto became irritated.

"Man, this is just dumb," Naruto groaned. "Wherever we go, people always point and stare!! That's it. I'm going home." Naruto spun around and arrogantly strode off towards home. Gaara quietly followed after him, then stopped. There, right on the roof above him, he/she was there, painting as usual. Only this time, he/she was facing Gaara. Their face was stained with paint, making it difficult for Gaara to see...

"Excuse me? Are you Gaara-sama, ex-Kazekage of the Suna Village of the Wind Country?"

Gaara turned around and immediately flinched. Fan girls. Four of them.

A fan girl crept forward, tears in her eyes. "Is...is it true that you've really turned...gay?" Gaara released the full, furious power of his aquamarine eyes on the girls.

"What about it?" he growled.

* * *

Hinata finished painting the ceiling and looked over her work. She smiled, then grimaced. Oh no, not another one of those darn headaches! Her lower back also ached something mean. Hinata sat on the roof for a while, hoping the throbs would go away. She looked around the town to distract herself from the pain.

'Well, I painted 50 houses this year. I should be proud of myself.'

Hinata looked down when she noticed a bright spot of red hair among all the common brunettes. She stiffened. That guy, with the red hair. The redhead. Wasn't he that person who kept looking at her, at around four o' clock nearly everyday?

'That person has good looks, and fan girls. So why is he watching me?'

Another large throb hit her head. Hinata groaned and climbed down the ladder. She was done for the day, and ready to crash at home.

* * *

"Yes, I'm gay," he snapped. "What about it? Sad? Well, I hope you are." He swiftly turned around and nearly bumped into someone. 

"Augh--sorry--"

When he saw who it was, he froze. Her face fascinated Gaara. It was bony, almost sunken, with slightly full but pale lips. There were dark purple shadows under her eyes. Despite her sickly face, it had a perfect and small shape with huge, lavender eyes.

He/she stopped and looked up. He/she met Gaara's gaze. Immediately, He/she picked up the pace and resumed walking, watching the ground. Gaara stared after He/she, and the fan girls followed suit. They wrinkled their noses and scoffed as He/she walked past them.

"Ha, look Ayumi. Is that even a guy or girl?"

"I don't know! Let's check!"

One of the girls pushed He/she to the ground. He/she fell and dropped the can of brushes.

"Oh, looks like its a girl!" The fan girls squealed and tittered.

"What a hideous girl!" "Stay away from our Gaara!" "How dare you take his eyes from us?!"

He/she swiftly sat up and grabbed the brushes with alarming speed, stuffing them back into the can. Gaara scowled at the obnoxious girls and bent to help He/she pick up their last brush. He/she snatched it away before Gaara could hand it over, then pushed past him, back into the crowd, back into mystery. And Gaara could do nothing but stare.

* * *

**I hope you enjoy the chapter! New story, hope you like it. Please review, good luck on finals, enjoy, have a good night! (:**


	2. Irony

**Paints  
**Chapter Two  
_Irony_

Hello! To my reviewers, thank you! Some of you have been asking how old they are; Gaara is seventeen and Hinata is sixteen. And here's the second chapter, enjoy!

* * *

"...  
_It was pretty damn strange, don't you think?  
__Heaven knows if this irony would've ever happened  
__if you hadn't agreed with me that day  
__..."

* * *

_It was the part of day when the natural light cooled out and a velvet calmness would blanket the land. Vendors in the sidewalks would begin lighting glowing paper lanterns, before people would buzz around prepared for a night of fun. It was sunset. And sunset was Hinata's new work-time. 

'They're not there. Okay, okay. It's time to paint. Hmm...my work area today are those condominiums in the east wing of Konoha. Alright, brushes, paint, hat, ladder, clothes, let's go! If I can paint at least three roofs tonight, maybe I can make it home by two...'

Hinata didn't really mind what happened at her encounter with the 'redhead' -as she dubbed Gaara- and his fangirls, but the fangirls definitely minded. Because for nearly two weeks straight after that, those fangirls would follow her around to wherever she worked, calling her names, threatening her and trying to trip her. If they weren't verbally and/or physically abusing her, they were cutting the bristles off her brushes or pouring her paint onto the floor where the sun and ground would quickly claim it. They even tried sawing in strategic points on her ladder in such a way that if she stepped on a certain point on a certain rung, it would break and Hinata would fall to the ground. Fortunately for Hinata, that didn't happen but there was always that growing suspense whenever she had to climb up and down her ladder.

Over time, Hinata grew scared of those girls. She began skipping days off work. She took longer routes instead of her usual walk. She even began painting later and later into the day. Yes, it was much harder to paint at night, what without the light of the sun to see or dry up the strokes, making everything more susceptible to mistakes. But if it meant avoiding those girls and the redhead, she would do it.

Hinata smiled and swung her can of brushes happily as she observed the glowing heavens. How she loved the sky! One day she would ask the Hokage for permission to paint a large mural of the sky on a wall somewhere.

Hinata pulled her old hat down over her eyes as she walked out onto the public street. She hated being around many others, though when she wasn't exactly what someone would call center of attention. Even if a person were to give her a curious look or just a regular glance, she would feel the embarrassment sprouting from the center of her chest up to her skin and voice and face; everything was suddenly interesting, but the most interesting thing of all was also the most feared: the thoughts of others. Hinata read in a book somewhere that this was all natural, a part of adolescence, but was it? Wasn't she a bit too old to be acting so overly self-conscious?

As she walked through the streets and into an alley, Hinata suddenly caught sight of four familiar pairs of eyes, plus another pair of whom she didn't count much as a bully. But still, icy-cold dread hit her stomach like a boulder. Her walk grew even stiffer if that was possible, and she could feel the awkwardness in her every limb as she neared those hard, repulsive eyes.

"Hey."

Hinata refused to look up, pretending that no one had addressed her.

"Hey. I'm talking to you, shit-stained."

Suddenly, a hand struck out against Hinata's fragile shoulder. Hinata fell to the ground, clutching her shoulder and flinching from the pain. She looked up to see a very pretty girl with beautiful violet-colored hair, most presumably the leader of that small fan girl group. Hinata felt tears coming to her eyes as she surveyed the girl's face. Even though this girl was actually the one who bullied her the most, Hinata couldn't help but envy her looks. That girl grabbed Hinata's paint-stained collar and held her up to her face.

"What's wrong with you? Is that how your family taught you to treat others? By ignoring them when they call for you?" Three other voices agreed in unison.

Hinata shook her head rapidly as the girl lurched her back and forth roughly.

"Stop with the damn shaking. Don't you know how to use your voice?!" the girl growled, her voice rising as she tightened her grip on Hinata. Hinata opened her mouth to answer, but only a squeak came out. The girl bared her teeth, and Hinata could only stare back in horror. She began to shiver.

"STOP with the damn shaking!!" The girl shouted. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and felt tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she heard a different voice amongst the laughing and jittering of the girls.

"Miyuki."

"What the hell's wrong with you? Too proud to answer just 'cause Gaara-kun helped you?" Miyuki continued to shout.

"Miyuki!"

"WHAT?!" Hinata felt Miyuki turn her head to face somebody else.

"We have a meeting with the others, and we're supposed to be there in five minutes, remember?" the voice replied calmly.

Miyuki sighed and dropped Hinata onto the floor. "You always have to ruin our fun, Kaourain," she groaned. "ALWAYS!"

Hinata recognized the name. Kaourain was a quiet but very attractive girl who gave Hinata extremely frightful looks now and then, but she never joined in with the bullying. It seemed instead that she was trying to have the girls be distracted by something else. Hinata internally thanked the girl Kaourain for coming to her rescue once again. But not before an almighty kick was sent to her shin.

Hinata looked up through blurry eyes at Miyuki, who was gazing down at her with penetrating contempt. "Stay away from our Gaara, or else," she threatened, her big purple eyes flashing as she walked away with the other girls.

Hinata nodded vigorously as she clutched her shin and frowned. 'Gaara?' she thought. 'She keeps mentioning that name...he can't be that redhead, can he?' She glanced up when she felt a gaze, but all she saw was a flop of black hair disappearing behind the wall. Groaning, she stood herself up and leaned against the wall, wiping away tears and trying to catch her breath. After recovering, she sighed and pushed herself from the wall, limping toward the direction of the condominiums.

'Well, that wasn't...super terrifying...at least I was able to...keep quiet...as usual...'

* * *

"ALRIGHT!! ALRIGHT!!! LEFTLEFTLEFTLEFT DODGE THIS, GAARA!! Oh, _OH!!!_ I GOT YA!!! _YEESSSS_!!!" Naruto screamed and threw his controller at the game console as the TV screen flashed "FAILED" in large red letters on Gaara's part of the screen. 

"YES!! I GOT IT!! I GOT IT!! I got it!!! I got...it..." Naruto eyed his best friend, who, instead of wallowing in despair, was just sitting motionlessly, "FAILED" blinking over and over in his glazed green eyes.

"Er...," Naruto waved a hand in front of Gaara's face. "Hey, man. You okay?"

Gaara looked up at his friend's blue eyes and nodded distractedly. Naruto frowned and slapped Gaara's shoulder. 'C'mon man," he complained. "Are you even trying to keep up with the game? ALSO, you're supposed to be drowning in misery now." Naruto did a little jig as Gaara continued to stare at the screen, none of Naruto's words having processed through his mind. Naruto stopped jigging and frowned.

"Did you have fun?" he asked. Gaara nodded.

"Do you even care if you lost?" Gaara nodded.

"Wanna eat at Ichiraku's for dinner tonight?" Gaara nodded.

"You're still not sulking over those rumors, are you?" Gaara shook his head.

'So he IS listening...' Naruto thought.

"Let's leave for Ichiraku's now, then..."

Nod.

Naruto frowned. 'Man, he's boring tonight. I hope I meet someone on the way to cheer him up.' Naruto did meet up with someone on the way back from Ichiraku, though Gaara wasn't cheered.

"Hey, Kiba," he yelled, flashing his teeth and waving energetically as usual. Kiba returned the gesture and ran to bump Naruto.

"Hey man, there's this HUGE event at the arcade right now, if you get highest score on at least three-fourth of all the games there, then..." Kiba spotted Gaara and his smile went down a little. He jutted his chin as a gesture of hello.

Gaara nodded, then nudged Naruto and muttered, "Well...you can go play with your friend. I'll be at your apartment."

----

Gaara stayed out on the balcony, watching the town activity from above. The bright lights and cheery attitude reminded Gaara of the bold colors of the town. And colors reminded him of He/she. Over the two weeks Gaara often wondered where He/she went. He knew He/she was still around because everyday he would wake up to see more painted roofs across the town.

'Perhaps He/she works at night...' Gaara mused. 'But wouldn't that be difficult? Speaking of difficult, I wonder what's going on in Suna right now. I sort of miss being a Kazekage.' But remembering the stacks and stacks of paperwork that were now off his chest, Gaara smiled.

**THUMP!** Gaara yelled and jumped backwards. After several seconds, he relaxed and slowly walked back onto the balcony, staring at the ceiling above. The sound had come from the roof. He leaned over the balcony and tried checking the roof. There was nothing there from what he saw. Gaara sighed and leaned against the cold railing once more. _So what was I thinking about? That one large green fool of a teacher..._

Wssshh Gaara looked up again. Suddenly, a rain of objects clattered off the roof and crashed on the floor way below. Extremely puzzled, he stuck his head way beyond the railing to get a good look...

"AHHH!!"

A bundle of clothes and sticks rolled off the roof, colliding with Gaara's head. He blindly reached out and somehow managed to grab one of the sticks. It was a wrist. Which meant this was a human!

"Help!!" the person cried, clutching Gaara's arm but failing to get a good grip. Without thinking, Gaara grabbed the person's waist and pulled them over the railing. He tumbled backwards before falling on the floor, but refused to let go of the person.

"Ow—stop—scratching—ow!!" he yelled.

"Let—go!!"

The person made a terrific fight to scramble out of Gaara's arms and ran to cower in the corner of the room, staring.

Gaara looked up and met the person's eyes. He froze. It was He/she! And He/she was drenched in bright orange paint. Groaning, Gaara lifted himself and looked into the nearby mirror to see orange hand prints all over his own arms, clothes, and face. Even smears were on the floor and the balcony railing. He looked back up at He/she to find them shivering. What was that awkward color on He/she's cheeks?

"I-I'm s-s-sorry," He/she squeaked, continuing to stare at Gaara with a mix of horror and surprise.

Gaara winced, pulling himself up to his full height and limping over to He/she. "Wait...you...," he muttered, pointing at He/she. Immediately, He/she scrambled towards the front door, threw it open and began running down the hall.

"Huh? Hey—WAIT!!" Gaara yelled. He tried following He/she down the hall but He/she was surprisingly fast for someone of...his? build... and pains, for He/she was clutching her back and wincing at whatever it was.

"Wait!!" he called again.

Gaara watched as He/she reluctantly turned back to look at him. But He/she didn't slow the pace, and before he knew it He/she was already running across the streets, without even bothering to pick up what they had dropped from the roof. Gaara groaned and looked himself up and down again.

()()()()()()()()()()

A big difference between Naruto and Gaara was the wealthiness. Gaara was pretty rich even though he wasn't Kazekage anymore, but Naruto was dead poor. He didn't have any proper cleaning soap for the paint stains, nor the right sponge for it. He didn't even have any extra pairs of attire, only his training, relaxing and sleeping clothes. So Gaara was forced to continue wearing his paint-stained clothes, which the bath soap and dish sponge refused to clean out.

He growled and inwardly cursed He/she as he imagined the storm his little blonde friend would kick up once he found out that his precious living space was splotched disgustingly with orange, and no money to afford any fix-ups.

* * *

Hinata was curled up in her bed, tears repeatedly springing to her eyes. She was nearly dying from embarrassment; the blush refused to leave her cheeks. 

She replayed the events over and over in her head...  
_She was climbing up the ladder to paint. She hardly saw where she was going, or painting. She stepped on some wet paint, slipped and fell hard. She heard someone yell. Then she dropped all her supplies and heard them shatter. And somehow, when she fell, that same person was able to catch her and save her. But WHY did it have to be Redhead!! _

Hinata groaned and reached for her hat to pull over her eyes, an old habit. It wasn't there. Hinata shot up in bed, and glanced towards the messy pile in the corner of her room. No hat. She frowned deeply, tears coming to her eyes once more, then threw the covers over her head with growing frustration at herself. What a swell evening.

* * *

The next day, early in the morning, Miyuki and her pack snuck over to Naruto's place to watch Gaara sleep as usual. But as they approached the apartments, they immediately spotted the familiar metal can with broken brushes strewn all over the place. They also saw huge orange streaks leading down from the roof, onto the balcony and into...into _GAARA'S ROOM!!!_

"Miyuki-chan...that bitch must've snuck into Gaara-kun's room!!" One girl cried.

"Who knows what she tried to do with our Gaara!!" Another one wailed.

"Let's go and ruin her right now!!" The third one yelled.

"No." Miyuki cleared her throat and glared at the girls. "Let's wait until she comes," she said, eyes glimmering with hate. "And while one of you distracts Gaara-kun, we'll take the bitch and beat her." All the girls cheered. Well, all but one. Kaourain just watched in silence as the obnoxious girls laughed endlessly, the hate reducing their cute faces to dirt.

* * *

**Hello everyone. Hope you enjoy this chapter, or basically the story so far. Reviews are welcomed, enjoy the story, see you in the next chapter!! ****8D**


	3. Event

**Paints  
**Chapter Three  
_Event

* * *

_

"_And to think that that single petty situation...  
__that single event...  
__would've unleashed all this.  
__..."

* * *

_Gaara lay awake in his futon staring at the ceiling in anger, frustration against Naruto swirling in his chest. It was nearly dawn, which meant he hadn't slept for a good three hours now. The only way he knew this was because that goddamn Naruto wouldn't stop snoring! Gaara felt guilty about what happened to his friend's apartment last night, but he couldn't help feeling pissed at him too, though it bothered him. But is a shrieking Naruto, a list of "reasonable" (and perverted) demands, a long loud reprimanding from the landlord, and three hours of precious sleep a fair punishment for a couple smears? NO. Okay, maybe "couple smears" didn't cover it, but Gaara was used to stains; his clothes, shoes, house, old toys-- all of them were splotched brown with ancient blood stains from the more malicious years of his life. He was so accustomed to seeing blood on his property that he hardly noticed it anymore. Surely that was understandable?

Naruto moaned and rolled in his sleep, letting out a strange gargle in the process. He ended up facing Gaara, his mouth slowly falling open. Gaara winced; Naruto's morning breath was powerful enough to pollute the all the oxygen in the tiny room. It went on that way for five minutes, with his strange gargling noises and ever-present plume of morning breath. Then deciding he couldn't take anymore, Gaara pushed himself off his futon and stumbled towards the bathroom. He frowned at himself in the mirror. After all that scrubbing, how could there still be orange stains on his face? He tried rubbing off the stains with water, then stopped immediately when his whole face throbbed with buckling pain. After washing up, he headed towards the kitchen to cook the occasional ramen breakfast.

* * *

Hinata hurried through the dim streets, clutching her overall strap and shivering, though it may not have been entirely from the chill. 

'I wonder what happened to all my supplies...I hope no one took them...' Hinata climbed over a fence and bounded through the trees, breathing with difficulty. 'I better get there before anyone sees me...'

Hinata finally reached the condominiums. She spotted her ladder and her shattered paintbrushes lying on the floor. She quickly began gathering all the pieces. The sun began spreading its rays over the horizon and Hinata automatically reached for her hat to shield light out of her eyes. She suddenly remembered her hat wasn't there. It must be lying somewhere nearby.

Hinata searched the ground for her hat, breathing hard all the while. She climbed onto the roof. It wasn't there either. She went down her ladder and with a terrible pang, she realized that she must've dropped it in th...the redhead's room! Her heartbeats spluttered out of control as she glanced up at the balcony above her. Her pale eyes widened. She gasped and pressed her cold hands to her mouth. She had only just noticed the bright paint splatter on the floor, not to mention the waterfall of orange running down the side of the wall and the skid marks on the roof. Hinata grew panicky as she imagined a scene where the Hokage would be pointing at the wall and yelling at her, with the fangirls and the redhead watching. Then the Hokage would hand her a bucket of paint and reach out to smack her upon the head and...and...

... she had to get her hat back.

Hinata carefully placed her ladder just below the balcony and slowly began her climb upwards. When she was eye level to the balcony floor, she peered through the railing to observe: it wasn't so high, but a good view of the village, an old bench in the corner, several interesting wind-song ornaments hanging from the roof, and glass doors. But no hat. Hinata squinted, trying to see through the reflection on the glass doors. Maybe it was...inside? Hinata felt her heart rate increase. Her hat was probably inside. And she could picture it too: smack in the middle of the floor, with a bottle of soap next to it. So she would have to break in if she wanted her hat back.

...And she would do just that.

After reassuring herself for five minutes, Hinata slowly grabbed the cold metal railing in one hand and pulled up her frail body. She hated her current situation but she really wanted her hat back. The sweat on her hands made it difficult to keep a good grip; the ladder was making loud snaps under her pressure. A particularly loud crack from the ladder made Hinata freeze in her tracks. She shot a terrified glance towards the glass doors. Nope, still on the safe.

Within a couple minutes, Hinata was standing on the outer edge of the balcony, trying not to look down.

"Okay, Hinata, you can do this," she whispered to herself. Her hands began to shiver as she slowly lifted her leg and pulled herself over the metal rails--

A loud clash, and a beautiful cascade of tinkling music reverberated into the cool air as Hinata's head collided with the wind-song ornaments. She was so startled that she simply let go of the railing and landed with a _thump_ on the balcony.

**o o o o o o o o o o **

Gaara was calmly eating his ramen breakfast and flipping through an old magazine. He sighed when he heard several snaps echoing throughout the small apartment. Naruto made the weirdest sounds when passing gas. It surprised Gaara when he didn't smell any of the methane. Oh well. Not like he wanted to smell it.

Then Gaara smiled when he heard Naruto's wind-song ornaments play their familiar tune, if not a bit abruptly. One thing that Gaara liked his whole life, even as a previously psychotic killer, was the sound of wind-song ornaments. The songs were tranquil and halcyon, yet eerie; something about the soft, silver notes could sooth Gaara down to the point of almost serenity. Gaara pushed away the magazine -which had been disgustingly sleazy anyway- leaned back and closed his eyes to listen to the solitary tune. There was nothing better than listening to a wind-song at the break of dawn--

Almost instantly Gaara heard a thump. He scoffed and crossed his arms. That dumbass Naruto probably hit his head, serves him right too. Gaara hoped it hurt. And apparently it did, when he heard groaning. Gaara didn't care when he heard the sound of a door sliding open; he was too busy listening to his song. However, the labored breathing and extremely light footsteps caught his attention. Green irises popped open and averted towards the tiny living room.

**o o o o o o o o o o **

Hinata frowned deeply. Her hat should've been in the tiny living room, for that was where she'd had her little orange struggle with the redhead. If it wasn't there that meant she had to check the other rooms of the house. Oh boy. Hinata crept over to the bathroom and tentatively peeked inside. There was a half-filled jug of soap, a toothpaste tube that was squeezed in the middle. In the sink, orange-stained towels lay within an inch of murky orange water. An orange-stained t-shirt was soaking in the bathtub. Hinata felt guilt overwhelming her as she took this all in. But no hat.

'How is it that the paint that I spilled is everywhere, but my hat isn't?' she wondered.

Hinata tiptoed over to a closed door and slowly opened it. She froze instantly as she recognized the odor of sleep wafting around in the room. There were two futons on the floor, and one person stretched upon both of them. This person was blonde...did she sneak into the wrong apartment? But she couldn't have...the orange stains were solid evidence! ...Unless the redhead slept there with him. No, he couldn't have. If the redhead had fangirls, that meant that he couldn't possibly be ga- Hinata felt her head beginning to ache as she closed the door as quietly as she could and headed for the kitchen. Her hat should be in there.

Her hat wasn't in the kitchen either. But what Hinata did notice was the sleazy magazine lying open, and the steaming pot of soup on the counter-top. Hinata felt her being turn to ice as she realized that someone else WAS in the apartment, awake and eating breakfast as she broke in. Awake and in the house...

Immediately Hinata snuck over to the balcony, closed the door quietly as she could and climbed over the railing and onto her ladder.

"Un."

**o o o o o o o o o o**

Gaara watched as the tiny figure nearly lost grip on the railing and turned to stone once laying their pale eyes on him.

"You," he said, "have terrible ninja skills."

He/she's eyes glistened. Gaara noticed adrenaline beginning to blotch he/she's pasty grey skin in variant shades of mauve.

"I-I-I...I...I d-d-didn't...I--" He/she sputtered, voice cracking and knuckles turning white from clenching the railing so hard. Gaara observed He/she's lavender-white eyes with great interest; he couldn't help but find it as one of the strangest things he'd seen. Then He/she put a hand to their hair and brushed the messy black bangs down to cover those eyes. Gaara suddenly remembered what He/she came for. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the limp, old paint-stained hat. He held it out towards He/she.

Very slowly, He/she reached over with shivering hands and cautiously pulled the hat out of Gaara's grip. He/she slammed it onto their head and jumped onto the ladder, sliding down it with great awkwardness. Gaara watched as He/she snatched up the can of broken paintbrushes and looked back up at him, hat and hair covering the eyes. He watched those pale lips move, but heard nothing. Then He/she ran off towards the alleys, clutching their lower back.

* * *

Miyuki and her fangirls were engulfed with rage as they watched Gaara return some old hat to Hinata. That rage was powered by determination when they saw her heading towards the alley they were hiding in. It fell when Hinata suddenly turned towards another fork in the alleyway.

"Come, this way!" Miyuki whispered. She began to sprint down the stony walk, with the other girls trailing behind. Kaourain jumped off the pile of rubble she was resting on and followed the girls. As she caught up with Miyuki, Kaourain stumbled and bumped into one of the girls, knocking her into some metal trashcans. A deafening crash echoed across the silent walls and birds flew into the air, squawking madly. Some houses nearby even had a light turn on in a window or two. Miyuki spun around and grabbed the fallen girl by the collar, and yanked her onto her feet.

"You useless moron!" She growled, exposing her uneven yellow teeth. "You woke everyone up! We won't be able to get her!You made her get away! You made--"

"I didn't do anything, Miyuki-chan! Kaourain pushed--"

"Shut the hell up! Why the hell do you have to be do damn clumsy?!"

"Can't we return tomorrow morning? She can't just leave the wall like that, she--"

Kaourain stepped back from the scene and looked towards the waking town. She caught a pair of pale eyes staring at her, and she glared back in response. The lavender eyes disappeared.

* * *

Hinata went to the Hokage's office to receive her paycheck. She didn't tell the Hokage about the little orange paint incident. The rest of her day past by uneventful, doing nothing but buying more paint supplies and drowning in embarrassment about the encounter and fear of what the fangirls might have done if they saw that. Hinata also felt great apprehension about the following day; she knew she must repaint those condominiums, and the redhead would either be, or not be there. If he was there, then the fangirls were sure to be there too. Even so, she couldn't help but feel also a bit excited about seeing him again, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe because Redhead was the only person who had smiled at her. 

The next morning, Hinata set out towards the condominiums, a busted can of clean new paintbrushes in her right hand, can of fresh white paint in the other, and her hat jammed on her head. The ladder was still in place from yesterday morning, and for some reason a large rock under it that she couldn't budge. She began painting, working on the roof first and then the wall from bottom to up, a small grin on her chapped lips. She reached the balcony and began painting the railing, some of the floor, and the wall.

Then the balcony door slid open and out stepped the redhead. He wore nothing but black sweatpants and an earring. Hinata froze and blushed as she took in his image, and they made eye contact. Hinata noticed a smear of paint on his cheek. Their gazes stayed locked as Redhead poked the wind-song ornaments and made his way back inside, closing the door. Hinata shivered, feeling her face heat up and her heart banging against her chest. She abruptly turned away and continued painting, though her movements were now jerky and she was using too much paint.

Hinata soon became aware of someone staring at her from inside the doors; however, she refused to look. She knew who it was. Everything she did seemed automatic now, the up-and-down movements of her brush on the walls, dipping into the almost empty paint bucket, the complaining throbs in her head and lower back. She could only feel his gaze burning into her hands, her arm, her face. And then suddenly it was gone. She glanced at the door. No one there. Only then was she suddenly aware of the headache that hit her like a baseball bat.

"Ugh...crap...not again," Hinata moaned. She sat on the balcony railing and clutched her head in her hands. One thing Hinata hated about her paint job was the discomforts it came with. Her back hurt from bending over so much. Her eyes had dark circles from the early morning hours she had to wake. As for her suddenly hard breathing and headaches, she didn't know. But each ache was worse than the one before it, absorbed into her bones, thick like butter. She felt like such an old woman. She couldn't wait until she quit this job and found something else to do--

"You look like you need this."

Hinata snapped to attention and almost fell off the balcony. She righted herself and stared at the hand holding out a glass of water to her. She slowly looked up and met his green eyes. Hinata felt extremely unsettled as she scoured the depths of his gaze. If not for his curiously monotone but comforting velvet voice, the look in his eye would've made Hinata think that he would push her off the balcony as soon as she began drinking the water.

_No...no no no no NO!! _Hinata screamed in her mind. _The fangirls would kill me! Don't take the water! Don't!!_

But against her judgment, Hinata felt herself reaching out for the glass and gulping down its contents, watching the redhead with a wary eye. She still felt flustered by his eyes. Her headache raged less and she handed back the empty glass.

"Th-thank you," Hinata murmured. The redhead took the glass but continued standing there, watching her. Hinata felt increasingly bothered as she pushed her hat lower over her eyes and climbed back onto the ladder. She stole a glance at Redhead and immediately looked away, blushing. He was looking at her strangely and smirking. He went back inside, and Hinata sighed with relief.

_Now, time to work. For real._

Hinata jammed her brush into the bucket to distract herself. She stared at her paint bucket. It was empty. How did it get empty so fast? She frowned and set off down the ladder, leaving her brush on the balcony. And about halfway down, it happened. Hinata had forgotten that those fangirls had done something to her ladder. She stepped on a trick rung and it broke. Some of the sharp splinters went through the holes in her boots, piercing the bottoms of her feet. She landed on that blasted rock that was under her ladder. Tears spiked her eyes. Through the pain, she felt something warm spreading across her shoulder--blood. Through her quivering vision, Hinata stared at the balcony. She felt extremely grateful that the redhead didn't see that.

Hinata rolled off the rock and tried getting up. The splinters in her feet made her stumble. Suddenly, she felt five pairs of hands grab her limbs. Her eyes burst open and she saw them-- purple-haired Miyuki, the three regular fangirls, and...what was her name...Kaourain? She felt herself being carried away. The condominiums rapidly disappeared and Hinata felt herself being thrown into the air.

* * *

_Hello everyone! Wow, that was a long chapter. I am planning on making this a medium-to-long story, so for those of you who are waiting for it, some nice Gaara'n'He/she moments are to come soon! (: Hope you're enjoy the story so far...reviews are welcomed, thanks! Enjoy and see you soon in the next chapter! (:_


	4. Meaning

**Paints  
**Chapter Four  
_Meaning

* * *

_"_Extremely strange...  
__how something I hate so much  
__actually helped me find the meaning...  
__meaning of my life.  
__..."

* * *

_Gaara returned the glass to the sink and grinned a little, watching He/she's surprised expression when he/she finally realized they had been painting with no paint. He sighed and began to do the dishes.

A terrific crack and a agonized cry had him flying to the balcony. His eyes widened as he took in the broken ladder rung, a blood-stained rock. Then he saw the five girls, four of which were familiar, disappearing behind an alley wall. Gaara felt the old rage grow inside him and he prepared to jump off the balcony—then remembered that if the fangirls saw him without a shirt, hell would sort of break out. Wait...didn't that mean he was walking around He/she half-naked?! _Shit_. Gaara burst into Naruto's room and shook him awake.

"Naruto!! Wake up!! Give me one of your most hideous shirts!"

**o o o o o o o o o o**

Hinata felt herself being thrown into the air. She landed with a hard thump on a pile of rubble. The five girls surrounded her, their fists clenched and muscles flexed. Miyuki pushed her way into the middle and stood over Hinata. She swung her arm and struck Hinata on the side of her head, knocking her hat off. Miyuki then grabbed the spiky black tufts of her short hair and yanked upward. Hinata cried out in pain and grabbed Miyuki's wrist, tears dripping off her chin.

"You little whore," Miyuki hissed. "I warned you to stay away from our Gaara, didn't I? DID I NOT?"

"P-p-please don't h-hurt me! I-I-I d-didn't do a-anything wrong! I—" Another hard yank to her hair cut her off.

"You do nothing but LIE, you little bitch!" Miyuki began yanking her back and forth. Hinata fought back. She kicked this way and that, swung her fists around frantically. She swiped at Miyuki's face. Miyuki dropped Hinata's hair and clutched her cheek. Two of the fangirls grabbed Hinata's bony limbs and pushed her to the wall. The third girl ran up and threw a handful of rocks at Hinata. She was now badly injured, but so were the other girls holding her.

Using most of her strength, Hinata pulled away from their grasp, leaped up and began to run away. She saw Kaourain in her way and couldn't stop what came next. Hinata felt her flexed hand clawing across Kaourain's cheek; she saw blood dripping down and her golden eyes alight with shock. It didn't matter anymore as to who Hinata hit or not. She just had to get away NOW.

"CATCH HER!!"

One of the girls tripped Hinata and jumped on her, pinning her down to the floor. Hinata squirmed around underneath and found herself face-to-face with the girl Kaourain. She stared at Kaourain's eyes. They were dark red and wide with rage. The nail marks on her cheek was already swollen and the blood was running into the edges of her lips. Despite Kaourain's beautiful looks, Hinata never saw anything more terrifying in her life. She began screaming and tried to crawl out from under the girl. Kaourain clamped a hand over Hinata's mouth.

"Stop moving!" she hissed through her teeth, and Hinata immediately stopped struggling. She saw Kaourain sit up and raise a large-knuckled fist. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the terrible split in her face...

"THAT BITCH SOCKED ME!! OH MY GOSH!! DID YOU SEE HER HIT ME?!"

"SHE HIT ME TOO!!"

"I'll KILL her!! I'll beat the living SHIT out of her!!"

"KAOURAIN, get the HELL off of her!"

"She's unconscious."

"So WHAT?! Get off of her!"

"She won't feel anything. It'll be no use hitting her; and besides, you're just gonna waste your own energy."

Hinata felt her hand being lifted and dropped to the ground..

"See? Totally out of it."

"Oh really?"

Hinata suddenly felt a sharp kick delivered to her ribs. She screamed out in pain.

"What the—"

"SHE'S AWAKE!!"

"BEAT HER UP!!"

"GET—OFF!!"

Hinata felt Kaourain being shoved off her and another weight dropped onto her stomach. Fists grabbing at her painfully and nails dug into her skin. There were loud slaps as Miyuki hit her face over and over, while the three other fangirls held her arms and yelled. Warmth was running down her face and all she was able to see was blurry dark clots of red. She felt fainter with every blow to her face.

"What's going on here?!"

There was a gasp, and everything stopped. Hinata tried opening her eyes, but she couldn't; they were swollen shut. She listened to the voice, but it was one that she did not recognize. All she knew that it was indeed a man's voice. It was saying something to her. Hinata tried to reply, but instead felt herself succumbing to darkness.

* * *

Gaara lay in wait, impatiently drumming his fingers against the tabletop and feeling enraged. He hated the fact that he knew someone was being harmed, yet could do nothing about it. It sent his Kazekage instincts out of control. He also wanted to sock Naruto for not having any clothes, the main reason why he was still stuck in the apartment. He couldn't take it anymore. 

Gaara threw open the balcony door and jumped off, landing gracefully. He bolted through the alleys, heading in Naruto's direction. Within several seconds, he saw the silhouettes. He heard crying, yelling, hard breathing. He heard Naruto's cry of "heartless crazy bitches!" echoing through the alleys.

Gaara jumped and landed next to Naruto. The fangirls gasped and began running towards him. At first he didn't register. He was too mesmerized by the sight of so much gore on such a tiny pale person...thick dark blood smeared on the perfect, small face...discolored spots forming all along the limbs...there was still a tormented look about He/she's sleeping face...

"Gaara-sama! EEEE!!! You're even hotter without your shirt!"

"Oh Gaara-kun! You have orange paint stains on your face! How cute!"

"Can I wash it off for you, Gaara-sama?"

Miyuki shoved her way through the girls and pushed herself up against Gaara's chest. "Oh Gaara-sama," she said, using her sweetest voice. "Me and my friends had no choice. We noticed that girl always sneaking off to see you during the night."

"Stay the hell away from me!" Gaara shoved Miyuki away, but she immediately pulled herself back to him.

"But Gaara-sama," she whimpered. "That girl was trying to attack us! Just because she wants you for herself!"

"Get off him, Miyuki." All eyes turned towards the girl with the long black hair and golden eyes. Her slender face held no emotion, except for her eyes, which were dripping disgust. She gave Miyuki a glare and her eyes flashed purple. Miyuki gave a frightful look before reluctantly pulling herself away.

Gaara internally thanked the girl and returned his eyes to He/she. The body was so fragile and white; it was almost fake-looking. He/she's blood also reeked of metal. It stained the ground, the hands of the fangirls, the wall, the smell of the air. It was making him feel very sick. He breathed an uneasy breath and took a step towards He/she.

Rage filled the fangirls' eyes. Gaara took another step.

"G-Gaara-sama." Miyuki strained to keep her voice light and sweet. "W-We'll take care of her for you. We know which way the hospital is. You should just go back to your apartment and...and ..."

Miyuki's honey-sweet mask melted away and she bared her ugly yellow teeth. "What are you doing!" she hissed. "You're not actually giving help to somebody— a NOBODY who doesn't deserve it, are you?!"

The fangirls watched Gaara's eyes, waiting for some sort of hesitation from him.

Gaara walked another step. He took great pleasure in infuriating the fangirls, especially this bratty purple one talking.

Miyuki balled her fists and howled. "Kazekage Gaara-sama! I never expected that someone as great as you would have the nerve to go near someone who shouldn't even exist!"

"SHUT UP!!" yelled Naruto.

Gaara slowly knelt down and turned He/she over. He slid his hands underneath the body and lifted He/she up without any difficulty. The girls gasped and cussed.

"I'll kill that bitch," one of the fangirls begin to say, but Naruto raised a chakra-infused fist to her.

"Don't you freaking dare! Do that kid harm and I'LL be harming you, even if you're a girl!"

While Naruto drove the girls away, Gaara carried He/she back to the apartment and set them on the floor. Naruto returned and locked the door behind him while rubbing a bite mark on his shoulder.

"Crap, Gaara." Naruto wiped his forehead and whistled. "Your fangirls are SO much more intense than Sasuke's."

He walked over and examined He/she. "She had a back wound from what I saw, bruises, possible scalp wound, judging from the hair, and cuts on the face, maybe also inside the mouth."

Blood was beginning to pool on the floor. Gaara wiped blood off He/she's face. There was a deep cut on her cheek. Naruto groaned and fetched an antibiotic.

"I wonder what this girl did to provoke your fangirls like that," he said. "Are Suna fangirls like this? Are all fangirls—wait...what the...?"

Naruto stared in surprise and horror at the face below him. He pointed at the face, a sweat running down his forehead. "G-Gaara? Who is—is...is this a girl?—a guy?—what the—I thought it was a girl—but he...she...he..."

Gaara finished treating He/she's wounds and sat up. He smirked and pointed at the face. "This, Naruto, is that painter person from couple weeks ago. Remember? And therefore, since I also couldn't determine this person's gender, I have been calling it 'He/she'."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Dude, Gaara!" Naruto choked out from between gasps, "I know another name!"

"What?" Gaara snickered.

"Shemale!!" Another round of laughter.

"Oh, I know one! Wo_**man**_!!"

"A robot! Asexual jellyfish!"

"You're lame!"

"This is so cheesy anyway-WAIT!" Naruto screamed and leaped off the floor. He gasped and pointed at He/she. Gaara looked, then groaned. Gaara had forgotten to treat the cut on her back. Which meant the carpet was stained with blood.

"Aww, Gaara!" Naruto yelled, grabbing fistfuls of his hair in agony. "First, it's orange paint! Now, it's red blood! Is my house becoming a rainbow or what!"

"Yeah, it is," said Gaara. "Those yellow ramen soup stains on your pajamas. The green mold growing between the tiles in your bathroom, and the blue paint on your room walls, and—"

"That purple mark on the wall your old gourd made when it fell...," Naruto groaned. "Aw, damn it. Clean it up for me, Gaara. I'm gonna buy some stain remover."

Gaara gave He/she a nervous look, then jumped up and grabbed the keys. "Wait Naruto. Why don't you let me buy the stain remover?"

"No, it's okay," Naruto said happily. He reached for his frog purse and Gaara snatched that away too. Naruto groaned. "Gaara, I know you feel guilty but really, it's my house. It's my money. And you're my guest. I'll buy the stain remover."

"No, no, let me buy it. You can take care of He/she..."

Naruto smiled at his friend and shot a wary look at the bloody body behind them. When he turned back, the smile was forced. "G-Gaara...give me my stuff."

Gaara also put on a smile to hide his growing fear. "You don't really want to go that long, long way down to town just to buy remover? Let me do it."

Naruto tried reaching for his belongings. "You wouldn't do it if I didn't want to. But today I want to. Give me my stuff."

"That means I want to walk today too," said Gaara. "I'll buy the remover, or we can walk together."

"Someone has to watch He/she. And thanks for the offer, but I'll buy it. Give me my stuff!"

"...No."

Both of them began to fight for the keys and purse.

"Give me my stuff!"

"You're the owner of this house, Naruto! You should be watching over He/she—"

"Oh, but you're my guest! My guests should never be doing my errands for me, eh? Ho ho NO they shouldn't be! I treat my guests with the best of hospitality. Now give me my fucking purse!"

"Watching He/she is an errand you're giving me, punk! And guess what? What if I'm a guest who WANTS to offer help from the bottom of his heart? You should be grateful that you're even getting an offer from ME! It's not everyday that someone gets an offer from fucking Gaara!"

"If you want to offer any goddamn help, then you help me with what I ask you to help me on! GIVE—ME—MY—STUFF!"

"NO!!"

"Mmfprgh..."

Both teens stopped fighting and stared at He/she. He/she rolled over and lay perfectly still, a tiny trickle of blood running down her face from a reopened scab. It looked just like a murdered corpse. As the two friends stared at the body, Naruto found his chance.

"I'M SORRY GAARA," he yelled. "BUT I JUST HAVE NO CHOICE!!"

* * *

Gaara lay on the floor groaning, both hands at his crotch. The door slammed behind him and Gaara grit his teeth, cursing Naruto inside his head. "Hospitality to guests, huh? That flaming shitbag." In the silence that followed, Gaara felt fear beginning to fill up his body. He was alone with He/she. A bloody He/she. Bloody, pale, zombie-like He/she. The metallic smell of blood in the air didn't help either. 

His eyes popped open when He/she groaned again. He watched in horror as He/she rolled in his direction, facing him. Then very slowly, one swollen eye slowly slid open...

* * *

**Hello everybody! Didja like the chapter? Lots of dialogue. Heh :P Next chapter may be coming soon. Please review, and if this chapter was a bit crazy, well then it's because of my dog. Yes, my dog. She peed four times on the floor today. She only pees on the floor when it's just me around. The rest of my family, she doesn't dare. I mean, what the hell? Bitch. Oh wait, make that FIVE times on the damn floor! **


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